The project aimed to build on the substantial work in the area of core primary health care functions to date, and to bring it together into a comprehensive set of core functions that can be agreed by all partners of the Northern Territory Aboriginal Health Forum (NTAHF) and be applicable to regionally-based Aboriginal primary health care across the Northern Territory. It was conducted under the guidance of a Working Group of the NTAHF. Regular meetings with the Working Group were held throughout the project.

The project had five stages as approved by the Working Group and detailed below: